ThinkSmart Full Year Results

21 Feb ThinkSmart Full Year Results

ThinkSmart Full Year Profit Rises 31% To Record: Well Positioned For Further Growth

• FY NPAT up 31%, a record result
• Earnings per share up 23%
• Well positioned for further growth
• Australian business volume up 45%
• Final dividend of 3.5 cents

ThinkSmart Limited (ASX:TSM),  a leading Australian and international computer and office equipment financing company, said full-year Net Profit jumped 31% to a record, overcoming cautious consumer sentiment.

Net Profit after Tax (NPAT) rose 31% to $6.8 million for the full year on a 14% increase in sales to $42.1 million. The company also lowered its cost of doing business by 17%, driven by ongoing improvements in operational efficiencies through its newly patented QuickSmart operating platform. ThinkSmart will pay a final partly franked dividend of 3.5 cents a share.

ThinkSmart’s 12% rise in full-year EBITDA to $13.3 million was at the top end of the range previously disclosed by the company. Second half 2010 EBITDA compared to the first half was 39% higher in Australia and 29% higher in the UK.

ThinkSmart Executive Chairman and CEO Ned Montarello said the earnings growth was particularly pleasing as it was achieved against the backdrop of weaker UK sales following extreme European weather conditions in November and December and the strength of the Australian dollar, which appreciated an average 18%.

“We are very well positioned,” said Mr Montarello. “We experienced strong growth in Australia in 2010 and our UK operations are well placed following our entry into the consumer market in November 2010. The combined $160 million in new bank facilities announced last week as part of our global funding transformation program means we have never been better positioned to capture this growth.”

ThinkSmart, with a presence in more than 600 retail stores in Australia through agreements with leading retailers, including JB Hi-Fi, Dick Smith and Officeworks, has seen its consumer rental finance offering in Australia deliver a 50% Compound Annual Growth Rate over the past 5 years.

ThinkSmart has been operating in the UK for more than eight years, providing business-to-business rental finance through PC World stores, which are owned by Dixons Retail Plc, the UK’s largest consumer electrical retailer.

Last November, ThinkSmart, in partnership with Dixons, launched the “Infinity” consumer rental proposition under a 5-year agreement across Dixons’ entire UK store network.

About ThinkSmart:  ThinkSmart is a leading international financial services company in the delivery of point of sale finance products through the retail environment. The business currently operates with market leading retailers and financial institutions in the UK, Spain, Italy, France, Australia and New Zealand where it has built a reputation for processing high volumes of low value business finance transactions both quickly and efficiently.

 

Further information:

Investors:                                            Media:

Neil Barker, Group CFO                     Michael Mullane /  Luis Garcia

ThinkSmart Limited                            Cannings Corporate Communications

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